A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Amy Weiss 

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama brought veterans' issues to the forefront in the presidential race as they addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Orlando this week. A response to McCain's remarks from the Democratic National Committee shows [1] that, despite his pro-veteran rhetoric, McCain voted 27 times against veterans' health care needs; he has called the new GI bill "too generous"; and McCain misrepresents his own voting record compared to how key veterans groups have rated it. McCain's rhetoric is at odds with his voting record.

It looks like McCain has a veterans problem. This, despite being widely respected as a POW survivor of the Vietnam war. Another indication of trouble for McCain comes from a new report [2] showing that active troops overseas are donating 6:1 to Obama over McCain.

As a former POW, McCain talks a great deal about his experiences in the military. He relied heavily on his experience as a former soldier and prisoner of war at Saturday's forum at Rick Warren's Saddleback church, and the stories made him a big hit with the Evangelical audience as well as many cable news pundits afterward. (Though some disputed their accuracy. [3])

In a 12,000-word article published in U.S. News and World Report [4] in 1973, McCain recounted his experience as a POW in detail and it's pretty incredible--it's understandable why he's heralded as a war hero.

What's even more incredible though, is how, in spite of this, he has been able to vote so frequently against the best interests of the troops; how a man who should be empathetic in a way few others can, has been all talk and little action.

McCain brags about standing up to some members of his own party and it turns out he does. He was one of only thirteen senators [5] to vote against an amendment to an emergency appropriations bill for 2006 "to provide an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veterans Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient and inpatient care and treatment for veterans," designating large amounts towards post-traumatic stress disorder treatment and readjustment counseling.

He voted with his party [6], however, to prevent the repeal of the Bush tax cuts and the closing of corporate loopholes in order to provide $1.5 billion in additional medical services to the growing veteran population in the 2007 budget.

He doesn't make veterans' issues much of a legislative priority either. According to the Vietnam Veterans of America, McCain is currently a sponsor or cosponsor of zero out of 38 [7]pending bills on veterans' issues (Obama is a sponsor or cosponsor of eight. [8])

The Military Coalition (TMC), a group of over 35 veterans organizations [9] (including the VFW), sent each member of the Senate a letter [10] explaining why it was important for veterans that the Senate vote to reverse the 10.6% decrease in Medicare physician payment rates. This was the vote or which Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) returned to the Senate [10] to ensure its passage in July. McCain was not present for the vote, but said he would have voted against it.

The TMC also sent a letter [11] urging senators to support Sen. Bill Nelson's amendment to the Defense Authorization Act of 2009. Nelson's amendment would repeal a law that deducts survivor benefits for military families from VA benefits. The amendment currently has 33 cosponsors, Democrat and Republican. Obama is one of them, McCain is not. Obama is also a cosponsor of a new bill, the Veterans Voting Support Act, which would make it easier for veterans [12] to register to vote. McCain has "not yet formulated a position."

According to Project VoteSmart [13], McCain has had a spotty history with veterans groups. In addition to the 20% he earned from the Disabled American Vets in 2006, he also received a 25% in 2005, a 50% in 2004, and a 66% in 1999. He received 18% form the Retired Enlisted Association in 2006 and 0% from them in 2004. From the Vietnam Veterans of America he received: a 100% in 2003-2004, a 46% in 2001, a 0% in 1997-1998, and a 50% in 1989-1990.

In the interest of fairness, Obama's scores [14] are not perfect either. He received a 12% from the Retired Enlisted Association in 2006 and a 92% and 80% from DAV in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Still, for a man who claims to have the market cornered on all things military, McCain doesn't seem to pay much attention to those who served in the military themselves.

McCain thinks his experience as a POW entitles him to the support of servicemen and women and veterans. He thinks he shouldn't have to try as hard to earn their support, that he should automatically have it. A man who served with McCain and was also a POW explained [15] Tuesday why he would not be voting for McCain:

It is also disappointing to see him take on and support Bush's war in Iraq, even stating we might be there for another 100 years. For me John represents the entrenched and bankrupt policies of Washington-as-usual. The past 7 years have proven to be disastrous for our country. And I believe John's views on war, foreign policy, economics, environment, health care, education, national infrastructure and other important areas are much the same as those of the Bush administration...

Senator John Sidney McCain, III is a remarkable man who has made enormous personal achievements. And he is a man that I am proud to call a fellow POW who "Returned With Honor." That's our POW motto. But since many of you keep asking what I think of him, I've decided to write it out. In short, I think John Sidney McCain, III is a good man, but not someone I will vote for in the upcoming election to be our President of the United States.

McCain spent the better part of his speech [16] to the VFW praising himself and criticizing Obama on judgment and "the surge," but he finally got around to saying this:

Those we depend on as troops should know, when they become veterans, that they can depend on us. Honoring this obligation will require leadership. And I pledge to you that as president I will lead -- from the front -- to reform our VA system and make sure that veterans receive the respect and care they have earned.

He then defended his position on the G.I. bill, which he first opposed and later missed a vote on. He claimed he "sought a better bill," even though a VFW spokesman called [17] the Graham-Burr-McCain plan: "very partisan and is seen as a way to convolute the GI bill, or to slow the Webb-Hagel proposal down."

After McCain's 5-and-a-half years as a POW and many more years of service, you would think that looking out for servicemen and veterans would be a top priority. You'd think it'd be one of the few things that might warrant a one-day break from campaigning to return to the Senate and vote on. Maybe he would be inspired to author legislation on behalf of America's servicemen and women, or at least tack his name on someone else's bill. In the same speech, McCain made a bluntly hypocritical and ironic statement that sums up his own position perfectly:

"I suppose from my opponent's vantage point, veterans concerns are just one more issue to be spun or worked to advantage."

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

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